GENERAL TYPES OF MEDITATION 4

BUDDHIST MEDITATION TECHNIQUES 5

ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN) 5

VIPASSANA MEDITATION 5

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION 6

LOVING KINDNESS MEDITATION (METTA MEDITATION) 8

HINDU MEDITATION TECHNIQUES (Vedic & Yogic) 8

MANTRA MEDITATION (OM MEDITATION) 8

TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION (TM) 9

YOGA MEDITATIONS 10

SELF-ENQUIRY AND “I AM” MEDITATION 12

CHINESE MEDITATION TECHNIQUES 13

TAOIST MEDITATIONS 13

QIGONG (CHI KUNG) 14

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION 14

SUFI MEDITATION TECHNIQUES 15

GUIDED MEDITATIONS 15

ART OF TEACHING

TEACHING MEDITATION 17

DEFINITIONS OF MEDITATION 17

START-UP MEDITATIONS AT BEGINNING OF CLASS 17

TYPES OF MEDITATION + CONTEMPLATION 18

TYPES OF MEDITATION 18

MEDITATION STRUCTURES 19

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND DURING TEACHING MEDITATION 19

THE RISKS OF MEDITATING TOO MUCH 20

PRECAUTIONS / SAFETY 20

THE USE OF MUSIC IN MEDITATION 21

BENEFITS FOR MEDITATION 21

SCIENTIFICAL BENEFITS FOR MEDITATION 22

MEDITATION POSTURES 22

TEACHING GROUP SESSIONS 23

PREPARATION 23

WAYS OF STARTING 23

STARTIG RITUALS 24

WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE DISTURBS THE CLASS 24

FINISHING 25

A COUPLE OF OTHER TECHNIQUES FOR GROUP SESSIONS 25

MEDITATION IN PRACTICE

CHECK IN WITH THE BODY 26

MANTRA CHANTING 26

WHAT IS MANTRA CHANTING? 26

WHY MANTRA CHANTING? 26

AUM 27

GAYATRI MATRA 27

SHANTI MANTRAS 27

HEART MEDITATION 27

STEPS FOR HEART MEDITATION (ANALYTICAL) 27

KUNDALINI MEDITATION 28

WHAT IS KUNDALINI MEDITATION? 28

KUNDALINI PRACTICE 28

TEACHING INSTRUCTIONS 29

ACTIVITATING ENERGY – FEMININE TECHNIQUES 29

INNER SMILE MEDITATION 29

STEPS 30

ROOTS MEDITATIONS 30

STEPS FOR ROOTS MEDITATION (ANALYTICAL) 30

CHAKRA MEDITATIONS 31

TECHNICAL DETAILS 31

STEPS 32

CHAKRA MOVEMENTS 32

TYPES OF CHAKRA MEDITATIONS 32

MOVING ENERGY UP PRACTICE 33

STEPS 33

BENEFITS 33

WALKING MEDITATIONS 33

THICH NHAT HANH 33

WALKING MEDITATION PRACTICE 34

IMITATING WALKING PATTERN 34

DANCE MEDITATIONS 35

DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR DANCE MEDITATION 35

SUFI WHIRLING 35

PARTNER DANCE MEDITATION 36

SHIFTING SENSES MEDITATION 36

STEPS FOR SHIFTING SENSES 36

BENEFITS 37

LOCAL AWARENESS & SPACIOUS AWARENESS 37

LISTENING TO SPACE: STEPS 38

SEEING: STEPS 38

THE NEUROSCIENCES OF MINDFULNESS 39

TASK POSITIVE NETWORK / DEFAULT MODE NETWORK 39

DUAL AWARENESS MEDITATION 40

NON-DUAL AWARENESS MEDITATION 40

NERVOUS SYSTEM 41

SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM: 41

PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM 41

LOVING PRESENCE 42

“BEGINNERS MIND” 42

THINKING AS 6^TH SENSE 42

YOGA & MEDITATION 43

YOGA SUTRAS 43

THE EIGHT LIMBS (Patanjali) 43

RECOMMENDED READING LIST 44

BOOKS 44

ONLINE CONTENT 44

TYPES OF MEDITATION

GENERAL TYPES OF MEDITATION

Scientists usually classify meditation based on the way they focus attention, into two categories: Focused Attention and Open Monitoring. Some others propose a third: Effortless Presence.

FOCUSED ATTENTION MEDITATION

Focusing the attention on a single object during the whole meditation session. This object may be the breath, a mantra, visualization, part of the body, external object, etc. As the practitioner advances, his ability to keep the flow of attention in the chosen object gets stronger, and distractions become less common and short-lived. Both the depth and steadiness of his attention are developed.

Examples of these are: Samatha (Buddhist meditation), some forms of Zazen, Loving Kindness Meditation, Chakra Meditation, Kundalini Meditation, Sound Meditation, Mantra Meditation, Pranayama, some forms of Qigong, and many others.

 

OPEN MONITORING MEDITATION

Instead of focusing the attention on any one object, we keep it open, monitoring all aspects of our experience, without judgment or attachment. All perceptions, be them internal (thoughts, feelings, memory, etc.) or external (sound, smell, etc.), are recognized and seen for what they are. It is the process of non-reactive monitoring of the content of experience from moment to moment, without going into them. Examples are: Mindfulness meditation, Vipassana, as well as some types of Taoist Meditation.

 

EFFORTLESS PRESENCE

It’s the state where the attention is not focused on anything in particular, but reposes on itself – quiet, empty, steady, and introverted. We can also call it “Choiceless Awareness” or “Pure Being”. Most of the meditation quotes you find speak of this state.

This is actually the true purpose behind all kinds of meditation, and not a meditation type in itself. All traditional techniques of meditation recognize that the object of focus, and even the process of monitoring, is just a means to train the mind, so that effortless inner silence and deeper states of consciousness can be discovered. Eventually both the object of focus and the process itself is left behind, and there is only left the true self of the practitioner, as “pure presence”.

In some techniques, this is the only focus, from the beginning. Examples are: the Self-Enquiry (“I am” meditation) of Ramana Maharishi; Dzogchen; Mahamudra; some forms of Taoist Meditation; and some advanced forms of Raja Yoga. In my point of view, this type of meditation always requires previous training to be effective, even though this is sometimes not expressly said (only implied).

BUDDHIST MEDITATION TECHNIQUES

ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN)

ORIGIN & MEANING

Zazen means “seated Zen”, or “seated meditation”, in Japanese. It has its roots in the Chinese Zen Buddhism (Ch’an) tradition, tracing back to Indian monk Bodhidharma (6th century CE). In the West, its most popular forms come from Dogen Zenji (1200~1253), the founder of Soto Zen movement in Japan. Similar modalities are practiced in the Rinzai school of Zen, in Japan and Korea.

HOW TO DO IT

It is generally practiced seated on the floor over a mat and cushion, with crossed legs. Traditionally it was done in lotus or half-lotus position, but this is hardly necessary. Nowadays most practitioners sit like this: 

The most important aspect, as you see in the pictures, is keeping the back completely straight, from the pelvis to the neck. Mouth is kept close and eyes are kept lowered, with your gaze resting on the ground about two or three feet in front of you.

As to the mind aspect of it, it’s usually practiced in two ways:

• Focusing on breath — focus all your attention on the movement of the breath going in and out through the nose. This may be aided by counting the breath in your mind. Each time you inhale you count one number, starting with 10, and then moving backward to 9, 8, 7, etc. When you arrive in 1, you resume from 10 again. If you get distracted and lose your count, gently bring back the attention to 10 and resume from there.
• Shikantaza (“just sitting”) — in this form the practitioner does not use any specific object of meditation; rather, practitioners remain as much as possible in the present moment, aware of and observing what passes through their minds and around them, without dwelling on anything in particular. It’s a type of Effortless Presence meditation
  
  

VIPASSANA MEDITATION

ORIGIN & MEANING

“Vipassana” is a Pali word that means “insight” or “clear seeing”. It is a traditional Buddhist practice, dating back to 6th century BC. Vipassana-meditation, as taught in the last few decades, comes from the Theravada Buddhist tradition, and was popularized by S. N. Goenka and the Vipassana movement.

Due to the popularity of Vipassanā-meditation, the “mindfulness of breathing” has gained further popularity in the West as “mindfulness”.

HOW TO DO IT

Ideally, one is to sit on a cushion on the floor, cross-legged, with your spine erect; alternatively, a chair may be used, but the back should not be supported. The first aspect is to develop concentration, through samatha practice. This is typically done through breathing awareness.

Focus all your attention, from moment to moment, on the movement of your breath. Notice the subtle sensations of the movement of the abdomen rising and falling. Alternatively, one can focus on the sensation of the air passing through the nostrils and touching the upper lips skin – though this requires a bit more practice, and is more advanced.

As you focus on the breath, you will notice that other perceptions and sensations continue to appear: sounds, feelings in the body, emotions, etc. Simply notice these phenomena as they emerge in the field of awareness, and then return to the sensation of breathing. The attention is kept in the object of concentration (the breathing), while these other thoughts or sensations are there simply as “background noise”.

The object that is the focus of the practice (for instance, the movement of the abdomen) is called the “primary object”. And a “secondary object” is anything else that arises in your field of perception – either through your five senses (sound, smell, itchiness in the body, etc.) or through the mind (thought, memory, feeling, etc.). If a secondary object hooks your attention and pulls it away, or if it causes desire or aversion to appear, you should focus on the secondary object for a moment or two, labeling it with a mental note, like “thinking”, “memory”, “hearing”, “desiring”. This practice is often called “noting”.

A mental note identifies an object in general but not in detail. When you’re aware of a sound, for example, label it “hearing” instead of “motorcycle,” “voices” or “barking dog.” If an unpleasant sensation arises, note “pain” or “feeling” instead of “knee pain” or “my back pain.” Then return your attention to the primary meditation object. When aware of a fragrance, say the mental note “smelling” for a moment or two. You don’t have to identify the scent.

When one has thus gained “access concentration”, the attention is then turned to the object of practice, which is normally thought or bodily sensations. One observes the objects of awareness without attachment, letting thoughts and sensations arise and pass away of their own accord. Mental labeling (explained above) is often use as a way to prevent you from being carried away by thoughts, and keep you in more objectively noticing them.

As a result, one develops the clear seeing that the observed phenomena is pervaded by the three “marks of existence”: impermanence (annica), insatisfactoriness (dukkha) and emptiness of self (annata). As a result, equanimity, peace and inner freedom is developed in relation to these inputs.

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

ORIGIN & MEANING

Mindfulness Meditation is an adaptation from traditional Buddhist meditation practices, especially Vipassana, but also having strong influence from other lineages (such as the Vietnamese Zen Buddhism from Thich Nhat Hanh). “Mindfulness” is the common western translation for the Buddhist term sati. Anapanasati, “mindfulness of breathing”, is part of the Buddhist practice of Vipassana or insight meditation, and other Buddhist meditational practices, such as zazen.

One of the main influencers for Mindfulness in the West is John Kabat-Zinn. His Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR) – which he developed in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical School – has been used in several hospitals and health clinic on the past decades.

HOW TO DO IT

Mindfulness meditation is the practice of intentionally focusing on the present moment, accepting and non-judgmentally paying attention to the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that arise.

For the “formal practice” time, sit on a cushion on the floor, or on a chair, with straight and unsupported back. Pay close attention to the movement of your breath. When you breath in, be aware that you are breathing in, and how it feels. When you breath out, be aware you are breathing out. Do like this for the length of your meditation practice, constantly redirecting the attention to the breath. Or you can move on to be paying attention to the sensations, thoughts and feelings that arise.

The effort is to not intentionally add anything to our present moment experience, but to be aware of what is going on, without losing ourselves in anything that arises.

Your mind will get distracted into going along with sounds, sensations, and thoughts. Whenever that happens, gently recognize that you have been distracted, and bring the attention back to the breathing, or to the objective noticing of that thought or sensation. There is a big different between being inside the thought/sensation, and simply being aware of it’s presence.

Learn to enjoy your practice. Once you are done, appreciate how different the body and mind feel.

There is also the practice of mindfulness during our daily activities: while eating, walking, and talking. For “daily life” meditation, the practice is to pay attention to what is going on in the present moment, to be aware of what is happening – and not living in “automatic mode”. If you are speaking, that means paying attention to the words you speak, how you speak them, and to listen with presence and attention. If you are walking, that means being more aware of your body movements, your feet touching the ground, the sounds you are hearing, etc.

Your effort in seated practice supports your daily life practice, and vice-versa. They are both equally important.

LOVING KINDNESS MEDITATION (METTA MEDITATION)

ORIGIN & MEANING

Metta is a Pali word that means kindness, benevolence, and good will. This practice comes from the Buddhist traditions, especially the Theravada and Tibetan lineages. “Compassion meditation” is a contemporary scientific field that demonstrates the efficacy of metta and related meditative practices.

Demonstrated benefits include: boosting one’s ability to empathize with others; development of positive emotions through compassion, including a more loving attitude towards oneself; increased self-acceptance; greater feeling of competence about one’s life; and increased feeling of purpose in life.

HOW TO DO IT

One sits down in a meditation position, with closed eyes, and generates in his mind and heart feelings of kindness and benevolence. Start by developing loving-kindness towards yourself, then progressively towards others and all beings. Usually this progression is advised:

• oneself
• a good friend
• a “neutral” person
• a difficult person
• all four of the above equally
• and then gradually the entire universe

The feeling to be developed is that of wishing happiness and well-being for all. This practice may be aided by reciting specific words or sentences that evoke the “boundless warm-hearted feeling”, visualizing the suffering of others and sending love; or by imagining the state of another being, and wishing him happiness and peace.

The more you practice this meditation, the more joy you will experience. That is the secret of Mathieu Richard’s happiness.

“For one who attends properly to the liberation of the heart by benevolence, unarisen ill will does not arise and arisen ill will is abandoned.” – The Buddha

HINDU MEDITATION TECHNIQUES (Vedic & Yogic)

MANTRA MEDITATION (OM MEDITATION)

ORIGIN & MEANING

A mantra is a syllable or word, usually without any particular meaning, that is repeated for the purpose of focusing your mind. It is not an affirmation used to convince yourself of something.

Some meditation teachers insist that both the choice of word, and its correct pronunciation, is very important, due to the “vibration” associated to the sound and meaning, and that for this reason an initiation into it is essential. Others say that the mantra itself is only a tool to focus the mind, and the chosen word is completely irrelevant.

Mantras are used in Hindu traditions, Buddhist traditions (especially Tibetan and “Pure Land” Buddhism), as well as in Jainism, Sikhism and Daoism (Taoism). Some people call mantra meditation “om meditation”, but that is just one of the mantras that can be used. A more devotion oriented practice of mantras is called japa, and consists of repeating sacred sounds (name of God) with love.

HOW TO DO IT

As most type of meditations, it is usually practiced sitting with spine erect, and eyes closed. The practitioner then repeats the mantra in his mind, silently, over and over again during the whole session.

Sometimes this practice is coupled with being aware of the breathing or coordinating with it. In other exercises, the mantra is actually whispered very lightly and softly, as an aid to concentration.

As you repeat the mantra, it creates a mental vibration that allows the mind to experience deeper levels of awareness. As you meditate, the mantra becomes increasingly abstract and indistinct, until you’re finally led into the field of pure consciousness from which the vibration arose.

Repetition of the mantra helps you disconnect from the thoughts filling your mind so that perhaps you may slip into the gap between thoughts. The mantra is a tool to support your meditation practice. Mantras can be viewed as ancient power words with subtle intentions that help us connect to spirit, the source of everything in the universe. (Deepak Chopra)

Here are some of the most well-known mantras from the Hindu & Buddhist traditions:

• om
• so-ham
• om namah shivaya
• om mani padme hum
• rama
• yam
• ham

You may practice for a certain period of time, or for a set number of “repetitions” – traditionally 108 or 1008. In the latter case, beads are typically used for keeping count.

As the practice deepens, you may find that the mantra continues “by itself” like the humming of the mind. Or the mantra may even disappear, and you are left in a state of deep inner peace.

TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION (TM)

ORIGIN & MEANING

Transcendental Meditation is a specific form of Mantra Meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1955 in India and the West. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Maharishi achieved fame as the guru to the Beatles, The Beach Boys and other celebrities.

It is a widely-practiced form of meditation, with over 5 million practitioners worldwide, and there is a lot of scientific research, many sponsored by the organization, demonstrating the benefits of the practice. However, there are also critics of the Maharishi and his organization, and some accusation of cultish behavior and doubtful research practices.

HOW TO DO IT

Transcendental meditation is not taught freely. The only way of learning it is to pay to learn from one of their licensed instructors. The support given seems to be good, though.

In general, however, it is known that TM involves the use of a mantra and is practiced for 15–20 minutes twice per day while sitting with one’s eyes closed. The mantra is not unique, and is given to the practitioner based on his gender and age. They are also not “meaningless sounds” – rather, they are Tantric names of Hindu deities. This probably is irrelevant for most people.

There is another similar technique, called Natural Stress Relief, which was created in 2003 by a former TM Teacher, and is much cheaper to learn (47 USD instead of 960 USD), and has stripped out some mystical elements of the practice of TM, such as the initiation (puja) and yogic flying (part of TM-Siddhi). 

YOGA MEDITATIONS

ORIGIN & MEANING

There is not one type of meditation which is “Yogic Meditation”, so here it is meant the several meditation types taught in the yoga tradition. Yoga means “union”. Tradition goes as far as 1700 B.C, and has as its highest goal spiritual purification and Self-Knowledge. Classical Yoga divides the practice into rules of conduct (yamas and niyamas), physical postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama), and contemplative practices of meditation (pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi).

The Yoga tradition is the oldest meditation tradition on earth, and also the one with the widest variety of practices.

HOW TO DO IT

Here are some types of meditation practiced in Yoga. The most common and universal Yoga meditation one is the “third eye meditation”. Other popular ones involve concentrating on a chakra, repeating a mantra, visualization of light, or gazing meditations. 

• Third Eye Meditation — focusing the attention on the “spot between the eyebrows” (called by some “the third eye” or “ajna chakra”). The attention is constantly redirected to this point, as a means to silence the mind. By time the “silent gaps” between thoughts get wider and deeper. Sometimes this is accompanied by physically “looking”, with eyes closed, towards that spot.
• Chakra Meditation — the practitioner focuses on one of the seven chakras of the body (“centers of energy”), typically doing some visualizations and chanting a specific mantra for each chakra (lam, vam, ram, yam, ham, om). Most commonly it is done on the heart chackra, third eye, and crown chackra.
• Gazing Meditation (Trataka) — fixing the gaze on an external object, typically a candle, image or a symbol (yantras). It is done with eyes open, and then with eyes closed, to train both the concentration and visualization powers of the mind. After closing the eyes, you should still keep the image of the object in your “mind’s eye”. 
• Kundalini Meditation — this is a very complex system of practice. The goal is the awakening of the “kundalini energy” which lies dormant on the base of the spine, the development of several psychic centers in the body, and, finally, enlightenment. There are several dangers associated with this practice, and it should not be attempted without the guidance of a qualified yogi. Kundalini is a physically active form of meditation that blends movements with deep breathing and mantras.
• Kriya Yoga — is a set of energization, breathing, and meditation exercises taught by Paramahamsa Yogananda. This is more suited for those who have a devotional temperament, and are seeking the spiritual aspects of meditation. 
• Sound Meditation (Nada Yoga) — focusing on sound. Starts with meditation on “external sounds”, such as calming ambient music (like Native American flute music), whereby the student focuses all his attention on just hearing, as a help to quieten and collect the mind. By time the practice evolves to hearing the “internal sounds” of the body and mind. The ultimate goal is to hear the “Ultimate Sound” (para nada), which is a sound without vibration, and that manifests as “OM”.
• Tantra — unlike the popular view in the West, most Tantra practices have nothing to do with ritualized sex (this was practiced by a minority of lineages. Tantra is a very rich tradition, with dozens of different contemplative practices. The text Vijnanabhairava Tantra, for instance, lists 108 “meditations”, most of them more advanced (already requiring a certain degree of stillness and mind control). Here are some examples from that text:
  • Merge the mind and the senses in the interior space in the spiritual heart.
  • When one object is perceived, all other objects become empty. Concentrate on that emptiness.
  • Concentrate on the space which occurs between two thoughts.
  • Fix attention on the inside of the skull. Close eyes.
  • Meditate on the occasion of any great delight.
  • Meditate on the feeling of pain.
  • Dwell on the reality which exists between pain and pleasure.
  • Meditate on the void in one’s body extending in all directions simultaneously.
  • Concentrate on a bottomless well or as standing in a very high place.
  • Listen to the Anahata [heart chakra] sound.
  • Listen to the sound of a musical instrument as it dies away.
  • Contemplate on the universe or one’s own body as being filled with bliss.
  • Concentrate intensely on the idea that the universe is completely void.
  • Contemplate that the same consciousness exists in all bodies.
• Pranayama — breathing regulation. It is not exactly meditation, but an excellent practice to calm the mind and prepare it for meditation. There are several different types of Pranayama, but the simplest and most commonly taught one is the 4-4-4-4. This means breathing in counting up to 4, holding for 4 seconds, breathing out for 4 seconds, and holding empty for 4 seconds. Breathe through your nose, and let the abdomen (and not the chest) be the one that moves. Go through a few cycles like this. This regulation of breathing balances the moods and pacifies the body, and can be done anywhere.
  
  

Yoga is a very rich tradition, with different lineages, so there are many other techniques. But the ones above are the most well-known; the others are more specific or complex.

SELF-ENQUIRY AND “I AM” MEDITATION

ORIGIN & MEANING

Self-Enquiry is the English translation for the Sanskrit term atma vichara. It means to “investigate” our true nature, to find the answer to the “Who am I?” question, which culminates with the intimate knowledge of our true Self, our true being. We see references to this meditation in very old Indian texts; however, it was greatly popularized and expanded upon by the 20th-century Indian sage Ramana Maharshi (1879~1950).

The modern non-duality movement (or neo-advaita), which is greatly inspired in his teachings – as well as those of Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897~1981) and Papaji – strongly uses this technique and variations. Many contemporary teachers to employ this technique, the most famous ones being Mooji, Adyashanti, and Eckhart Tolle.

HOW TO DO IT

This practice is very simple, but also very subtle. When explaining it, however, it may sound very abstract.

Your sense of “I” (or “ego”) is the center of your universe. It is there, in some form or another, behind all your thoughts, emotions, memories, and perceptions. Yet we are not clear about what this “I” is – about who we truly are, in essence – and confuse it with our body, our mind, our roles, our labels. It’s the biggest mystery in our lives.

With Self-Enquiry, the question “Who I am?” is asked within yourself. You must reject any verbal answers that may come, and use this question simply as a tool to fix your attention in the subjective feeling of “I” or “I am”. Become one with it, go deep into it. This will then reveal your true “I”, your real self as pure consciousness, beyond all limitation. It is not an intellectual pursuit, but a question to bring the attention to the core element of your perception and experience: the “I”. This is not your personality, but a pure, subjective, feeling of existing – without any images or concepts attached to it.

Whenever thoughts/feelings arise, you ask yourself, “To whom does this arise?” or “Who is aware of _____ (anger, fear, pain, or whatever)?” The answer will be “It’s me!”. From then you ask “Who am I?”, to bring the attention back to the subjective feeling of self, of presence. It is pure existence, objectless and choice-less awareness.

Another way of explaining this practice is to just focus the mind on your feeling of being, the non-verbal “I am” that shines inside of you. Keep it pure, without association with anything you perceive.

With all other types of meditation, the “I” (yourself) is focusing on some object, internal or external, physical or mental. In self-enquiry, the “I” is focusing on itself, the subject. It is the attention turned towards its source.

There is no special position to practice, although the general suggestions about posture and environment are helpful for beginners.

CHINESE MEDITATION TECHNIQUES

TAOIST MEDITATIONS

ORIGIN & MEANING

Daoism is a Chinese philosophy and religion, dating back to Lao Tzu (or Laozi). It emphasizes living in harmony with Nature, or Tao, and it’s main text is the Tao Te Ching, dating back to 6th century B.C. Later on some lineages of Taoism were also influenced by Buddhist meditation practices brought from India, especially on the 8th century C.E..

The chief characteristic of this type of meditation is the generation, transformation, and circulation of inner energy. The purpose is to quieten the body and mind, unify body and spirit, find inner peace, and harmonize with the Tao. Some styles of Taoist Meditation are specifically focused on improving health and giving longevity.

HOW TO DO IT

There are several different types of Taoist meditation, and they are sometimes classified in three: “insight”, “concentrative”, and “visualization”. Here is a brief overview:

• Emptiness meditation (Zuowang)— to sit quietly and empty oneself of all mental images (thoughts, feelings, and so on), to “forget about everything”, in order to experience inner quiet and emptiness. In this state, vital force and “spirit” is collected and replenished. This is similar to the Confucius discipline of “heart-mind fasting”, and it is regarded as “the natural way”. One simply allows all thoughts and sensations arise and fall by themselves, without engaging with or “following” any of them. If this is found to be too hard and “uninteresting”, the student is instructed with other types of meditation, such as visualization and Qigong
• Visualization (Cunxiang) — an esoteric practice of visualizing different aspects of the cosmos in relation to one’s own body and self.
• Breathing meditation (Zhuanqi) — to focus on the breath, or “unite mind and qi”. The instruction is “focus your vital breath until it is supremely soft”. Sometimes this is done by simply quietly observing the breath (similar to Mindfulness Meditation in Buddhism); in other traditions it is by following certain patterns of exhalation and inhalation, so that one becomes directly aware of the “dynamisms of Heaven and Earth” through ascending and descending breath (a type of Qigong, similar to Pranayama in Yoga).
• Inner Vision (Neiguan) — visualizing inside one’s body and mind, including the organs, “inner deities”, qi (vital force) movements, and thought processes. It’s a process of acquainting oneself with the wisdom of nature in your body. There are particular instructions for following this practice, and a good book or a teacher is required.
• Internal Alchemy (Neidan) — a complex and esoteric practice of self-transformation utilizing visualization, breathing exercises, movement and concentration. Some Qigong exercises are simplified forms of internal alchemy practices.

Most of these meditations are done seated cross-legged on the floor, with spine erect. The eyes are kept half-closed and fixed on the point of the nose.

Master Liu Sichuan emphasises that, although not easy, ideally one should practice by “joining the breath and the mind together”; for those that find this too hard, he would recommend focusing on the lower abdomen (dantian).

QIGONG (CHI KUNG)

ORIGIN & MEANING

Qigong (also spelled chi kung, or chi gung) is a Chinese word that means “life energy cultivation”, and is a body-mind exercise for health, meditation, and martial arts training. It typically involves slow body movement, inner focus, and regulated breathing. Traditionally it was practiced and taught in secrecy in the Chinese Buddhist, Taoist and Confucianist traditions. In the 20th century, Qigong movement has incorporated and popularized Daoist meditation, and “mainly employs concentrative exercises but also favors the circulation of energy in an inner-alchemical mode” (Kohn 2008a:120).

HOW TO DO IT

There are thousands of different Qigong exercises cataloged, involving over 80 different types of breathing. Some are specific to martial arts (to energize and strengthen the body); others are for health (to nourish body functions or cure diseases); and others for meditation and spiritual cultivation. Qigong can be practiced in a static position (seated or standing), or through a dynamic set of movements – which is what you typically see in YouTube videos and on DVDs. The exercises that are done as a meditation, however, are normally done sitting down, and without movement.

Here goes an introductory overview of the practice of seated Qigong meditation:

• Sit in a comfortable position. Make sure your body is balanced and centered.

• Relax your whole body – muscles, nerves, and internal organs
• Regulate your breathing, making it deep, long, and soft.
• Calm your mind
• Place all your attention in the “lower dantien”, which is the center of gravity of the body, two inches below the navel. This will help accumulate and root the qi (vital energy). Where your mind and intention is, there will be your qi. So, by focusing on the dantien, you are gathering energy in this natural reservoir.
• Feel the qi circulating freely through your body.

Other famous Qigong exercises are:

• Small Circulation (also called “microcosmic circulation”)
• Embryonic Breathing
• Eight Pieces of Brocade
• Muscle Tendon Changing (or “Yi Jin Jing”, taught by Bodhidharma)

The first two are seated meditation, while the latter two are dynamic Qigong, integrating body stretches.

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION

In Eastern traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Daoism) meditation is usually practiced with the purpose of transcending the mind and attaining enlightenment. On the other hand, in the Christian tradition the goal of contemplative practices is, one may say, moral purification and deeper understanding of the Bible; or a closer intimacy with God/Christ, for the more mystic stream of the tradition.

Here are some forms of Christian contemplative practice:

• Contemplative prayer — which usually involves the silent repetition of sacred words or sentences, with focus and devotion
• Contemplative reading — or simply “contemplation”, which involves thinking deeply about the teachings and events in the Bible.
• “Sitting with God” — a silent meditation, usually preceded by contemplation or reading, in which we focus all our mind, heart and soul on the presence of God

SUFI MEDITATION TECHNIQUES

Sufism is the esoteric path within Islam, where the goal is to purify oneself and achieve mystical union with the Supreme (named Allah in this tradition). The practitioners of Sufism are called Sufis, and they follow a variety of spiritual practices, many of which were influenced by the tradition of Yoga in India. 

Their main techniques include:

• Contemplation of God (muraqabah)
• Sufi Mantra meditation (zikr, jikr or dhikr)
• Heartbeat meditation
• Sufi breathing meditation (including Five Elements Breathing)
• Bond of Love meditation
• Gazing meditation
• Sufi walking meditation
• Sufi whirling

GUIDED MEDITATIONS

ORIGIN & MEANING

Guided Meditation is, in great part, a modern phenomenon. It is an easier way to start, and you will find guided meditations based on several of the above traditions.

The practice of meditation requires some dose of determination and will-power. In the past, people that were into meditation were more committed to it, and also had strong ideals fueling their motivation. Their life was more simple, with less distractions.

We live in very different times now. Our life is busier. Will power is a less common personal asset. Distractions are everywhere, and meditation is often sought as a means to develop better health, enhance performance, or improve oneself.

For these reasons, guided meditation can indeed be a good way to introduce you to the practice. Once you get the hang of it, and wish to take your practice to the next level, I would urge you to try meditation unassisted by audio. It is up to you to decide when you feel like taking this step.

Guided Meditation is like cooking with a recipe. It’s a good way to start, and you can eat the food you make like this. But once you understand the main principles and flavors, you can cook your own dish. It will have a different, unique taste; it will be tailored for you, and more powerful. And then you will not want to use the recipe anymore – unless if you are trying a dish of another cuisine. 

HOW TO DO IT

Guided meditation usually comes in the form of audio (file, podcast, CD), and sometimes audio and video. You will find that any guided meditation will fall in one of below categories (with some overlap, obviously).

• Traditional Meditations — With these types of audios, the voice of the teacher is simply there to “illustrate” or “guide” the way for your attention, in order to be in a meditative state; there is more silence than voice in it, and often no music. Examples are the ones offered by Thich Nhat Hanh and Tara Brach, which are rooted in authentic Buddhist practices. The purpose is to develop and deepen the practice itself, with all the benefits that come with it.

• Guided Imagery — Makes use of the imagination and visualization powers of the brain, guiding you to imagine an object, entity, scenery or journey. The purpose is usually healing or relaxation.
• Relaxation & Body Scans — Helps you achieve a deep relaxation in your whole body. Progressive relaxation, sometimes called body scan meditation, is meditation that encourages people to scan their bodies for areas of tension. The goal is to notice tension and to allow it to release. During a progressive relaxation session, practitioners start at one end of their body, usually their feet, and work through the whole. Some forms of progressive relaxation require people to tense and then relax muscles. Others encourage a person to visualize a wave, drifting over their body to release tension. Progressive relaxation can help to promote generalized feelings of calmness and relaxation. It may also help with chronic pain. Because it slowly and steadily relaxes the body, some people use this form of meditation to help them sleep.
• Affirmations — Usually coupled with relaxation and guided imagery, the purpose of these meditations is to imprint a message in your mind.
• Binaural Beats — Binaural beats were originally discovered in 1839 by physicist Heinrich Wilhelm Dove. He discovered when signals of two different frequencies are presented separately, one to each ear, your brain detects the phase variation between the frequencies and tries to reconcile that difference. This is used to generate alpha waves (10 Hz), which is the brain wave associated with initial levels of meditation. There is scientific research into why and how binaural beats work.

While they all have their merits, it is the first type that most naturally evolves into individual unguided practice.

ART OF TEACHING

TEACHING MEDITATION

DEFINITIONS OF MEDITATION

• ‘Latin’: to contemplate. Contemplation means observation without analysis, streamlined attention, yin, feminine, to allow, mindfulness.
• Witnessing: to be the witness to come closer to the Self / source and the unchanging presence. 
• Focused attention: concentration practices (yang). Focus on the third eye / candle. Masculine, active, yang: make it happen.
• Medicine (same roots) for the soul, experience your true nature.
• Dictionary: space inside which is mentally calm & emotionally balanced (no emotionally high / low). 

It is recommended to meditate every day twice a day for 20 mins.

Meditation isn’t about becoming a different person, a new person, or even a better person. It’s about training in awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective. You’re not trying to turn off your thoughts or feelings. You’re learning to observe them without judgment. And eventually, you may start to better understand them as well. Meditation shows you the universe inside you. 

START-UP MEDITATIONS AT BEGINNING OF CLASS

1. BODYSCAN: laying down or seated. Take 1 to 2 mins for each body part. You can tell the students about the time so they can relax their mind. Especially in Western culture the mind can only relax if it knows the structure. 
2. BREATH AWARENESS: breath through nostrils / into belly. Comes from Buddhism: the contemplation and witnessing of the breath. Also, possible to observe the temperature of the in- and exhale. 
3. SENSES AWARENESS: bring attention to the five senses, 2 to 3 mins for each sense to be more in the Now. 
4. WALKING MEDITATION: feet on the ground, awareness to the breath. This active meditation also comes from Buddhism. 
   1. Walking meditation goes against the traditional idea of stillness (= relaxation). Activity is more related to anxiety: you don’t want to be in the Now, so you move. 
   2. There has been a movement from still meditation to more active meditation practices. These active practices can help us to experience life as a meditational practice: this is the ultimate goal of meditation. To not only experience the connection with the source / Self in meditation, but to be the constant witness of you everyday life. So eventually the active meditation can bring more stillness from the inside. Try to apply these active meditations in your daily life (in parks, at home).
5. EYE CONTACT: new age meditation technique. The object of contemplation are the eyes in front of you, so the eyes of your partner are objectified. You no longer see the whole body or bigger picture, but you are only focused on the eyes as an object. This practice helps you to bring you in the Now. 
6. FREEZE & RELEASE: this is an active relaxation. The purpose of this technique is to warm up the mind before or after asana practice.

TYPES OF MEDITATION + CONTEMPLATION

• Open monitoring: relaxed focus on an object, but any change that happens is ok. You just observe the changes without judging them. 
• Practice of moving the attention.
• Practice of mind control (same as in yoga).
• Practice of self-regulation. Achieve calmness & peace in the Now. To try to have this experience whenever and wherever. 

TYPES OF MEDITATION

• YOGA CONCENTRATION: single pointed attention
  – This cost effort, to control the mind (yang practice);
  – Dharana;
  – From thoughtful to one thought;
  – Example: candle concentration (Tratka);
  – Other objects to use should have: light, purity, depth like sun gazing or a picture.
• MINDFULLNESS: open monitoring, contemplation
  – Relaxed attention; no forced way of looking at something, but just observe as it changes and do not control;
  – Be aware / mindful (yin practice).
• ANALYTICAL MEDITATIONS: analyze concept, principle
  – To show compassion, kindness, non-violence, non-judgement;
  – Use intellect to come to the Self;
  – Analytical meditations are heart meditations;
  – The Buddhist has popularized this technique;
  – Analyzing a thought / concept to bring you to the Self;
  – ‘Metta’: to think about it;
  – You can work with emotions like grief, guilt, forgiveness to parents or family (roots) and exes.
  
  

Why are there only little meditation trainings compared to yoga trainings?

Meditation is less practical, more passive, and less standardized, so in meditation practices it’s a good idea to make more active practices. Yoga could easily be standardized because of alignment. This is why the Western mind got into Yoga, because they need some standards. 

MEDITATION STRUCTURES

1. INTENTION
   Why are we doing this meditation practice? Make it personal. Also, you should have experienced the meditation practice yourself, so you really know the effect. 
2. PREPARATION
   – Prepare the space: the vibe attracts the space for mediation. Make it more conducive to meditation. Making it clean, keep things in order, adding a kind of alter, incense, adding music.
   – Prepare the student: by concentration (according to Patanjali). It makes sense to bring the attention more in the Now. You can do this by awareness of the breath, senses, body scan, listen to music that is being played, simple stretches, pranayama, walking through space, eye gazing. Concentration comes for meditation. If meditation is a movie you are going watch, you want to be concentrated to watch it. Meditation is a story you want to tell.
   – Prepare yourself: meditation is a transmission of energy. You need to take some time for yourself, go to your own breath, otherwise your emotions or thoughts can disturb the students. Chant Mantra, stretch, watch breath and do what you need to do to prepare yourself and it will change whole quality for meditation. Also important for Asana class.
3. MEDITATION
   1. Technique: show the students with a little demo what you are doing with your eyes, hands etc. Always show it to the persons. 
   2. Time management: keep an eye of the time, it can also change the experience of the students when your class is running late or finishes too late. 
   3. Voice: tone, volume, enunciation (‘the act of pronouncing words’, stress on key words in a sentence). 
   4. Choice of words: no slangs, no abusive or casual words. Be precise in your choice of words. Make short sentences, it helps to concentrate (breath, senses, body scan). Use pauses to let students digest what you said.
   5. Create silence: silence is space. Words can show the way people need to go to. Silence is when they walk through the space. A dance between words and silence. Indirectly compassion for your partner’s energy. 
4. CONCLUSION
   1. Bring the students as slowly out of is as you brought them in to the practice, during concentration. Conclusion is the opposite of concentration. 
   2. Bring the students back in the Now; very important to integrate in meditation. Do this by focusing on breath, senses, music, sounds. 
   3. Make your students aware of possible after effects of the meditation. For example, with Yoga Nidra: because you already rested in this practice, you can might have a shorter sleep cycle. Or with heart meditation: it can bring up emotions or memories. 

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND DURING TEACHING MEDITATION

• OBSERVATION OF STUDENTS

Very important. With an asana class observation is very obvious, but in a meditation practice it isn’t that obvious, so be aware.

• This is not your self-practice: it’s not the practice of the teacher, but the practice of the student! Use time to benefit to the student and find your own time for your self-practice. Let the students know that you are there for them; if they need something, they can come to you. 
• Also let them know that they can get out of the practice whenever they want. Give the students their free will back. Responsibility with the students, this makes it also easier for the teacher. 
• Walk around: makes student more alert. Don’t be lazy, but be aware of the whole room and all the students.

• EYE CONTACT
  Make eye contact with all the students at least once. 
• SPIRITUAL / SOURCE INSTRUCTIONS IN YOUR MEDITATION
  Remind people that by doing all these practices we are connecting with the source. Knowing that you go to that space that is never changing: the unchanging Self. 

THE RISKS OF MEDITATING TOO MUCH

Meditation helps you to be more present and conscious in life. But what happens if you meditate too much?

1. Escape. You start to escape reality and you start to escape your personal and professional life. You are avoiding life.
2. Power. You might become too aligned with your Siddhis. The power that you gain can rise to your head or ego and make you to want meditate even more. 
3. Robotic / apathetic. The idea of heart meditation is not to become emotionless, but to feel more and not identify with them. By meditating too much, you bypass your emotions and you feel very numb. 

Avoid risks: self-practice (helps us to live in a higher state of consciousness) and participate in life fully (life will ground us).

PRECAUTIONS / SAFETY

MENTAL HEALTH

• Ask your students: Does anybody have any injuries? Medicines? Knee issues? Joint issues?
• Ask your student: Does anybody have mental health issues? Prescribed? Make sure you secure their privacy. We are not using meditations as a therapy: we cannot guide for therapeutic reasons.
  • If people have certain issues, then let them know that they have a choice: to come out of meditation. In this way, you acknowledged them and keep the responsibility to themselves. 
  • If symptoms of issue come: let them get out of the practice.
• Whisper to the students: give them personal attention. 
• Isolate the student: bring them to the corner when there are strong reactions like crying, dizziness, shaking, lightheadedness. 

GROUNDING PRACTICES: What can you tell them to do if they feel spaced out?

• They can go into a Childspose, Shavasana or Reversed Shavasana. 
• Make your students share and express their feelings by asking open-ended questions:
  • How are you feeling?
  • What do you thing brought it on?
  • How was this experience?
  • What do you feel like doing?
• Touch to their head, chest, back, feet. 
• Tell them “I am here for you”.
  
  

BREATH AWARENESS MEDITATION WITH SAFETY

Good afternoon everybody, how is everyone feeling today? (make eye contact with everyone). Today we are starting with a short breath awareness meditation to bring us in the Now. Try to aware of your own body and emotions during the practice, and if at any moment, it gets a bit too much for you, then please come out of the meditation. And maybe, whenever you feel ready, you can join in again. If you have anything that comes up that you need to share with me during the practice, then please don’t hesitate to raise your hand. 

So now you can slowly close your eyes, and if there is anyone with mental health issues that I should know of, please raise your hand so I can come to you.

Now let’s observe our body, how do we feel this afternoon. How does our body feel? Do we feel some tightness somewhere? Or maybe we feel some tension? Just observe. 

Now we are going to bring our attention to our natural breath. Observe how your breath is going into the nostrils through your lungs all the way to your belly…….

THE USE OF MUSIC IN MEDITATION

You have to be careful about the use of music in meditation, because it can also bring you more outwards instead of inwards. Because activation of senses can bring you outwards. In this way music can also be a distraction.

• You can also use music as a tool: as a background sound to zone out the noise. 
• Choice of music: it should be appropriate for the meditation. Examples: binaural beats, singing bowl, instrument, mantras. 
• Regulate the volume of the music: make sure it is not too loud. Also, you can use speakers for dance or sound meditations. 
• Another option is to use quotes that are appropriate for the meditation. Make sure these quotes are not too long.
  • Good for the intellectual mind after the meditation.
  • Acknowledges that meditation is in alignment with other speakers / persons.

BENEFITS FOR MEDITATION

1. PHYSICAL, HEALTH
   1. healing, breathing, positive attitude, increases immunity.
2. ENERGY
   1. more vitality (activates prana), increases energy levels, lowers laziness, lowers energy levels, lowers inertia.
3. EMOTIONS
   1. emotional balance, feelings pass, clear feelings, heart space.
4. MENTAL
   1. mind (relaxed thoughts), inner control, space between thoughts, creativity, witnessing more active.
5. SPIRITUAL
   1. inner peace, bliss, oneness, source, move towards surrender to universe.
      
      

SCIENTIFICAL BENEFITS FOR MEDITATION (INTERNET)

There are also scientific benefits for meditation: 

Research has shown that meditation can have both physiological and psychological effects. Some of the positive physiological effects include a lowered state of physical arousal, reduced respiration rate, decreased heart rate, changes in brain wave patterns and lowered stress.

Some of the other psychological, emotional, and health-related benefits of meditation include:

• Increased self-awareness
• Better stress management skills
• Improved emotional well-being
• Better management of symptoms of conditions including anxiety disorders, depression, sleep disorders, pain issues and high blood pressure
• Improvement in working memory and fluid intelligence
• Changes in different aspects of attention
• Consciousness is often likened to a stream, shifting and changing smoothly as it passes over the terrain. Meditation is one deliberate means of changing the course of this stream, and in turn, altering how you perceive and respond to the world around you. While experts do not yet fully understand exactly how meditation works, research has clearly demonstrated that meditative techniques can have a range of positive effects on overall health and psychological well-being.

MEDITATION POSTURES

• Cross legged yoga poses
  • Sukhasana = easy sitting pose
  • Swastikasana = calves crossed
  • Half / full lotus
• Sitting on char (remind students that back should be straight)
• Sit down on a bolster against the wall
• Sit on your knees = vajrasana (hero pose)
  • Sit on a bolster or with sitting bones on heels

TEACHING GROUP SESSIONS

PREPARATION

Your presence and energy is very important as a teacher. Prepare yourself for the class, focus on your presence and that this is complete. Prepare small details of the class: arranging the area, focus on what you are wearing; this gives you control over your surroundings. As a teacher, you are the recipient of all that happens. To feel what is all happening you need to be prepared. You have space inside you, you are feeling calm. 

Prepare what you are going to say. You can write a script of what you are going to say. Quality of energy: how are you feeling inside? You need to be completely there. Be confident. Be familiar with what you are teaching. Be aware of the space. Be prepared for all dynamics. Don’t let go of your presence for unexpected events. Being light-handed, be spontaneous, be joyful. Share what you are teaching and be in love with what you are teaching, be connected. 

Tone of the voice is very important. The calmer the tone, the better you can lead people. Being prepared gives you this calm confident. Slowly, clearly, loudly. And speak to the energies of people, not just people. Try to use the names of people.

Also, be ok with the people around you: presence. Being comfortable in what you are going to teach. Be prepared that people might not respond the way you want them to respond. They might be talking, make sounds; prepare for this. You as a teacher always stay centered, so no matter what happened. If anything disturbs you, try to stay calm. Also, you can use some humor, be spontaneous if unexpected things would happen. 

Take control over the space by cleaning it all together. Removing all unimportant things. 

Medical form: fill in before the class start so the teacher is aware of mental health issues, subscriptions, medicines etc. 

Ground rule: Being as forgiving as you can towards the group.

WAYS OF STARTING

Rituals are a good way to start a class, to normalize situation and the students will accept you as a teacher. It takes the doubts away for students. So, try to always start with a ritual, depending on the energy of the group what kind of energy you choose. For example, if you feel a lot of energy in the group, then you make them all dance wild so their bodies get tired and mind will calm down for meditation. 

After this you can start the meditation with a small meditation, disconnects the group from earlier happenings, bring them to the space that they are in, bring then into the presence, into the Now. Start with a round of easier practices before going deeper. Practices always need to be gentle. 

Checking in with their bodies. Makes them aware why they are here, what their purpose is. 

Communicate the purpose of that particular session immediately. You have to have a purpose in mind: what will upcoming class bring to the group. Communicate clearly what they are going to do, in details. Tell them what they get out of it and you tell them how the class / day / week will end. The students can be completely here. The mind can relax if they have structure. Make sure people are isolated in the group; phones way or on silent, close the doors, children away. 

If people cannot join the process, they can still be part of the group and observe. 

STARTIG RITUALS 

Disconnect from past and their stories, so they can be themselves without the package. Let every student introduce his/herself without including the past, so talk about intentions.

• Let the group physically move around to let go of awkwardness and makes each other familiar. 
  • Greet each other with Namaste
  • Look into each other’s eyes, smile 
  • Hug each other after eye contact
  • Give each other a hug or kiss on the cheek 
• Divide the group into two groups and let one person move to the other group and give this person a love shower, give it love like you would to a baby: gentle and soft. Less intimate than one to one, because you are with a group. 
• Let the group dance to release tension and use as a reset.
  • Start with something physical before going into meditation. So, the body gets a bit tired, energy gets consumed and mind can calm down: then people can sit still.

Let the students introduce themselves as:

• Super hero, animal, anything that doesn’t relate to your name, not labeling yourself
• Choose an element that divines yourself and distribute over the group: earth, water, air, fire, ether
• What has brought you here today (past, better to bring them in the Now)
• What is your intention 
• Tantra: what is your feminine name or masculine name, describe yourself

Try to express how you feel without introducing yourself / labeling yourself. Ask them: what is their intention? Why are they there? What do they want to get out of it? 

Another idea to do mentally make a name for the Self: disconnecting the Atman from your body and mind. Remembering yourself and acknowledge that there is a separation of the soul, the source, the Self. 

WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE DISTURBS THE CLASS

If someone does something disturbing: first you make them aware of their behavior because they might not do it consciously, then try to address to the whole group that everybody should try to be engaged. If that person keeps on doing it: address that person personally and make the whole group aware of that person’s behavior. “What do you think of what he/she is doing?”, “is his/her behavior disturbing you?”. But don’t get into the confrontation with the student. Don’t panic, but stay calm, confident and joyous. 

Very important that never lose the presence of your mind. You are leading the whole group. If you have a large group, have assistant.

If people try to get attention: move the attention from them. Have the student sit someone else, so he or she cannot get attention from the group. Or take the whole group outside, so he or she doesn’t get any attention. 

When people are being sarcastic:

• Ask the why they are here 
• Try to explain them why you want to distract the students from labelling and past stories
  
  

FINISHING

To finish you bring the group back together. Underline the experience. Ask how everybody is feeling. Let them thank themselves for being here, for doing this meditation. Make them have small affirmations: what are they taking with them from this session? What are they going to embody in their daily lives? 

A COUPLE OF OTHER TECHNIQUES FOR GROUP SESSIONS

DESIRES ? ANTI-DESIRES

Ask yourself: why are you desiring that certain object? There is a reason behind it on a deeper level. What symptom is behind it? Every desire has a different cause. When you peel these layers of, you get aware of the true blocks in your body. 

? contemplation meditation (non-duality) 

EXPERIENCE INSTANT SAMADHI

Lay on the belly, thumbs inside hand, bringing eyeballs to fleshing part of hand, hands on cushion and head resting on hands. Resting here for 15mins max and experiencing and seeing colors, ocean, endlessness. 

HOLDING THE BREATH

Sit up with straight spine. Three inhales, after first exhale keep breath out of body and hold it out. Try to think with open or closed eyes and experience that you cannot think. Mind stops when the breath stops. 

FEELING EACH OTHER AURA

One person sits cross legged with straight spine, eyes closed, other person straightens the arm in front of heart chakra / solar plexus and slowly moves forward to feel where there is a physical blockage, move around it to feel the aura and energy. 

MEDITATION IN PRACTICE

CHECK IN WITH THE BODY

Before starting any meditation, you should first of all check in with your body. Make a connection with your body, check in how you are, how you feel.

• Breath (depth, speed, quality)
• Body: am I in my body? Or in my mind?
• Thoughts: speed, nature, reference (is it about you, other people, conceptual?)

? do not get caught up in your thought and just observe; do not change anything 

When? Several times a day: check-in how I feel? 

In group classes you can start the meditation by checking-in separately, or share in group session how everybody’s feeling.

MANTRA CHANTING

WHAT IS MANTRA CHANTING?

Mana = mind Tra = vehicle / transportation 

Key words: invocation, voice, sounds, repetition, meditative states, frequency, vibration 

Mantra chanting is a repetition of a mantra that helps is to come into a meditative state. Each mantra has a different frequency / vibration and a different meaning. Each mantra is a code to connect with this frequency and to invoke a God. Also, every sound has a visual representation (yantra). So, every mantra has its own meaning, but as a teacher try to find your own meaning of the mantra. Try to make it personal and be authentic. 

Another idea of mantra chanting is while you focus on the sound, you try to find the stillness behind the sounds. You can chant the Mantra in your head, pretty forceful, and then slowly let the Mantra continue on his on rhythm in your head. You let the Mantra move to the background, but it’s still there. It continues to chant while you focus on the stillness behind the sound.

Every fear comes from the fear of death. To release this fear or stored frustration you can use the lion’s breath. Deeply inhale and exhale with tongue out of mouth and scream. You can also bring your eyes to the third eye (in between the eyebrows). 

WHY MANTRA CHANTING?

• Protection of the mind: The mind drops the conscious thinking. By mantra chanting we protect the mind of thoughts that are not serving us.
• Focus: mantra chanting help us to concentrate (to come into meditative state).
• Expression: to work on the throat chakra
• To realize one’s immortal nature which leads to supreme peace ? to watch it happen. You come into a higher mind, you think from a higher perspective and see the true reality and the bigger picture.
• Frequency / vibration: to invoke a God / certain meaning

AUM

AUM is the sounds of the universe which frequencies at 432 Hz. By chanting this mantra, you connect with the universe, with the source (= oneness). It consists out of three letters A – U – M which all have a different meaning:

• The A stands for creation, survival and roots. It is connected to the root chakra, so when you chant the A it vibrates in the genital area.
• The U stands for preservation. It is connected to the heart chakra, so when you chant the U it vibrates in the chest area. 
• The M stands for liberation and oneness. It is connected to the crown chakra and when you chant the M you mostly feel it vibrate in your throat area. 

GAYATRI MATRA

• Praying to the universe
• Works on blockages in the body (the sound vibrations opens the energy)
• Stimulates brain to ask more questions for true realization ? the absolute truth (unchanging)

SHANTI MANTRAS

1. Prayers for peace
2. To calm the mind
3. AUM – Shanti – Shanti – Shanti 
4. Physical, internal, divine
   
   

HEART MEDITATION

The breath and emotions are related, so with heart meditations it’s important to connect the breath with the emotions. To come into a more relaxed state and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, you can do the yogic breathing. This deep breath activates a neutral state of emotions. It is done by 5 secs to inhale + 5 secs to hold the breath + 5 secs to exhale. To start a heart meditation, take a deep heart breath (in the chest): it relaxes the muscles to prevent clog arteries, chances of high blood pressure and heart attack. 

STEPS FOR HEART MEDITATION (ANALYTICAL)

1. Feeling inside: visualize a person that you lost or felt guilty to. 
2. Neutralize heart: deep breath to neutralize the emotion (important for safety)
3. Why? This question is important to answer to satisfy the intellectual mind.
   Grief: inspired by qualities
   Forgiveness: create lightness in the heart, to let go of the past
   Guilt: to release the burden
   ? the person stays alive in you
4. Silence: to come out of meditation focus on the breath and space around you.

KUNDALINI MEDITATION

WHAT IS KUNDALINI MEDITATION?

Kundalini meditation is part of Kundalini yoga, and its primary purpose is to awaken the kundalini energy present at the base of the spine. This power lies coiled like a snake in the triangular sacrum at the lower end of the spine. It has to be summoned from the lower planes through all the seven chakras of the body and finally unleashed in the top most Sahasrara chakra above the head. Evoking this energy purifies your system and brings about complete awareness of your body. It gets rid of any mental, spiritual, and physical diseases ailing your body.

The coiled energy is primal and very powerful. Awakening it will lead to profound consciousness and supreme bliss. It is not an easy task to reach this state. You need to follow an austere mental and physical regimen to get anywhere close to raising your kundalini energy.

Here is a simple Kundalini Yoga meditational technique to try:

Sit with a straight spine, either in a comfortable cross-legged position or in a chair with both feet flat on the floor. Relax your hands in your lap, palms up, with the right hand rested on top of the left. Keep the shoulders relaxed and the upper chest lifted slightly to support the spine. The eyes are 9/10 closed, letting in a little light.

Bring your attention to the flow of breath, breathing only through the nose. First, just notice the breath, every part of the process of inhaling, and exhaling, all the little movements within your body. After a few minutes, begin to consciously slow your breath. Normal breathing is 14-17 times a minute. Slow your breath to 8 or fewer times per minute (4 or fewer per minute creates a state of meditation). Listen to the slight sound of the breath as it goes in and out.

When beginning with meditation, many people struggle with the “chatter” that the mind creates when we try to be still. Using a mantra like Sat Nam, where you think the word “Sat” on the inhale and “Nam” on the exhale, can help to provide a focus for the mind. If you notice that your mind is wandering, simply bring your attention back to the mantra and the breath. This simple process is how we train our mind and clear the subconscious.

Let all the thoughts simply come and go, like the background noise of people talking around you at a party. Just let go of the thoughts, as you stay with the flow and sensations of your breath. Continue for another 6-8 minutes. To end, take a deep breath, exhale, and inhale deeply again as you stretch both arms up to the ceiling. Exhale and relax.

KUNDALINI PRACTICE

Side notes: This practice is best done in the morning, because there is less mental storage then. The main aim of this meditation is to calm / absorb the mind. 

• Stare into each other’s eyes, pick one eye to focus on
• Twists hands, palms facing towards you (to protect your heart) and hold each other’s hands
• Start making circles together, from the hips. Inhale to go back, exhale to go front
• Activate the Mulabandha while making circles (clench buttocks). Inhale to activate the Mulabandha, exhale to let go of Mulabandha 
• Slowly stop making circles and hug each other: try to consume the created intimacy and thank each other for the practice
• Position yourself on the floor in a fetal posture to come back to yourself

TEACHING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Speak as little as possible as you teach this meditation. 
2. When you explain about the breathing method, you can exaggerate the sound as a teacher so the student really understands.
3. Another option to start this meditation is by dancing, or let the group walk around through the space while looking downwards. After a while you request them to stand still and pick the closest partner. 
   1. If you do this, explain to the students they have to feel a connection. If they don’t, then request them to thank the partner and find another. Explain that they have to feel the energy: it is not a rejection if there is no connection, since you cannot have a connection with everybody. 
4. If somebody is not having a good experience during the meditation, then bring this person to the floor with his head on a pillow or bolster and one leg bend with the knee resting on a bolster or pillow. 
5. Another option to calm someone down is by putting your hand on the lower back and the other hand on the heart. 

ACTIVITATING ENERGY – FEMININE TECHNIQUES

There are several techniques to activate the (Kundalini) energy in our bodies. 

1. Making an eight with the hips (Mandela) to make you feel more feminine. 
2. Kali meditation technique by bringing the arms and hands forwards and pulling the hips forceful in while bringing the arms back. The main purpose of this technique is to feel stronger and more powerful.
   1. After repeating this activation technique, you massage fold forward and massage each other’s back (sacrum) with the thumbs. 
3. Condensation exercise: try to walk through each other.
   1. Purpose: you can go through every obstacle in life to reach your goal and it helps to work with fear.
   2. For feminine: to make your boundaries clear, be strong and find your own power.
   3. Connected to Hindu Gods.
      
      

INNER SMILE MEDITATION  

Start the inner smile meditation with a body check: “You can’t do what you want until you know what you are already doing.” The inner smile meditation technique in tradition of Daoism.

Spiritual leaders that are known for this meditation style:

• Mantak Union (Daoist master)

He is best known for his teaching Taoist practices under the names of Healing Tao, Tao Yoga, Universal Healing Tao System and Qi Gong.

• William Bloom (meditation teacher)
  William Bloom is Britain’s leading mind-body-spirit educator and author of a number of books on spirituality and the unseen realms, including The Power of Modern Spirituality, Psychic Protection and Working with Angels, Fairies and Nature Spirits.
  
  

STEPS

• Centering / bringing in
  Example technique: focus on breath, focus on nostrils and in- and exhale and feel the difference in temperature. Follow the breath into the body, into the lungs. Watch the rising and falling of the lungs. Non-dual: investigating the boundaries of the body, what is the difference between inside and outside of the body; can you feel edge of the body? From lungs to the belly. Soften the belly. Breath into your belly, activation parasympathetic nervous system. Bring awareness inside the body. By softening the belly, you soften everything else. 
• Creating positive feeling
  Something undeniable positive.
  Scenery, past experience, flowers, something that inspires you inside yourself, someone that inspires you, your personal goal or purpose (reminding yourself of this greater purpose), light or energy coming down, positive visualization of the world, someone you love, positive feelings when you where a child: the confidence you felt to do the things you really love (careless, free, unconditioned, thoughtless, everything seems possible).
• Smiling: this aspect is always in this practice 
• Directing positive feelings into body
  Send it to your organs, send it to your heart to thank it for the work they do. Send the smile to your chakras. Send the positive energy to different body parts. Send love to your past, let it go, be grateful. Send love to your future. 
• Coming out
  You can make the students come out quickly to integrate the feelings into daily life. To keep staying on the same frequency level of love. Or visualize the room full of love before coming back. Or come back to belly, lungs, come back with the breath: breath love out around you. Option to turn it into dancing: how does this love makes you want to move? Visualize the day and how you take this love with you. 

This practice also suits very well with Yin Yoga. 

ROOTS MEDITATIONS

STEPS FOR ROOTS MEDITATION (ANALYTICAL)

• Bring the student inwards
• Picture: father figure (biological or someone who raised you). Or siblings, exes.
• Qualities, actions that you did not appreciate, did not resonate with, did not like. Take a few minutes in silence for this, meditation is really happening, emotions are rising up.
• Qualities and actions that you did appreciate. Take a few minutes in silence for this.
• Just like everyone they have a side that we connect with, that we resonate with, and a side that we don’t connect and resonate with. Another state of oneness. Makes us see the human side of our parents, exes, siblings. 
• Prayer: connect meditation with the source. Spiritual aspect in prayer. Peace for you and everybody else, include father figure. If you hold emotions from the past, then it stops you from being in the Now, to experience oneness, because there are blockages in the body.
  ? “May there be peace and no suffering for you and for all other sentient beings!”
• You can give an option to this prayer if some people might not like it. Also, it is ok if people need to come out of the practice.  
• Repeat the same thing on the Mother figure.
• Neutralization practice: deep heart breath.
• Conclusion: slowly bring them out to the Now.

CHAKRA MEDITATIONS

Chakras is an old Sanskrit word that literally translates to wheel. This is because the life force, or prana, that moves inside of you is spinning and rotating. This spinning energy has 7 centers in your body, starting at the base of your spine and moving all the way up to the top of your head.

In a healthy, balanced person, the 7 chakras provide exactly the right amount of energy to every part of your body, mind and spirit. However, if one of your chakras is too open and spinning too quickly, or if it is too closed and moving slowly, your health will suffer. By learning about the 7 chakras, you can become more in tune with the natural energy cycles of your body.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

1. ROOT / MULADHARA: color: red – mantra: LAM – element: earth 
   1. Safety, security, fearlessness, basic needs
   2. Root connections with family, long-time friends to feel safe
   3. Activities: earth (arefeet walking, running, sweat, shavasana)
   4. Connected to the root lock: Mulabandha
2. SACRAL / SWADHISTANA: color: orange – mantra: VAM – element: water
   1. Authenticity, creativity, flow
   2. Starting your own individuality 
   3. Activities: water (swim, shower, bath) or sit next to it, creative hobbies, new experiences
3. SOLAR PLEXUS / MANIPURA: color: yellow – mantra: RAM – element: fire
   1. Manifestation, confidence, power
   2. Taking actions, will-power, confidence, how powerful you feel as a person
   3. Activities: concentration practices, corework, abdomen
   4. Connected to the abdominal lock: Uddaya bandha 
4. HEART / ANAHATA: color green – mantra YAM – element: air
   1. Compassion, feelings, trust
   2. Unconditional self-love, becoming love, if you love yourself you can take care of others
   3. Being a team-player, knowing how you relate with others and showing acceptance, tolerance, compassion and patience
   4. Activities: air (breathing excercies), cardio, karma yoga
5. THROAT / VISHUDDI: color: light blue – mantra: HAM – element: space
   1. Freedom, communication, clarity
   2. Being honest, no lies and gossiping, also stayig true to yourself
   3. Activities: writing, journaling, expressive dancing, chanting, spiritual singing, complimenting
   4. Connected to the throat lock: Jalandhra bandha
6. THIRD EYE: color: dark blue or indigo – mantra: AAM – element: light
   1. Intuition, inner peace, knowing yourself 
   2. The wisdom center, channeling energy through you, believe in intelligence of the universe
   3. Activities: 3^rd eye meditation, yoga nidra, intellect (read, study), Bhakti yoga (prayers, devotion), satsangs
7. CROWN: color: white – mantra AUM – element: universe
   1. Oneness, surrender to universe, witnessing 
   2. Enlightenment, Samadhi, giving back, peace sharing
   3. Beyond duality / nature and into unchanging background of things
   4. Activities: head massages, observing your ego, inner stillness

STEPS

1. Bring people inwards
2. Visualize color at the physical location of the chakra, for example red in the area of the genitals
3. 3/4 mins make connection with the element (feel the lightness of the air)
4. 3/4 mins chant the Matra LAM. By chanting LAM you use 3 first syllables ? LA-LA-LAM
5. Repeat affirmations mentally: “I am authentic”, “I flow in my life”, “I am creative”

Make affirmations out of it: positive short statements. Repeating these affirmations help.

Mantra and affirmations come after the movements. 

CHAKRA MOVEMENTS (makes meditation more active, more engaging)

1. Root: move in circles, both sides
2. Sacral: move pelvis front and back (lower cat & cow, inhale to go forward, exhale to go back)
3. Solar plexus: elbows in line with shoulders and twist to both sides (abdominal twist)
4. Heart: elbows in line with shoulders, inhale to open the elbows and open the heart, exhale to close the elbows and the hear
5. Throat: inhale chin to chest and exhale to bring head back
6. Third eye: role your head both sides in circles 
7. Crown: contraction of all body, inhale to contract, exhale to release (engage body all along the spine)

Affirmations are our true nature. So, when a student asks “why should I say these thinks when I don’t feel like that?”

TYPES OF CHAKRA MEDITATIONS

1. Static mediation: focus on color, element, sound, movement, affirmation
2. Dynamic meditation: active mediation (shaking the body). Breath out through the mouth to release the tension. After each chakra, you stop the shaking and go to the affirmations. With this you plant seeds in the subconscious mind. 
   1. Remind the students that they can always sit down if the shaking gets too much. They can still focus on the chakra while sitting down.

DYNAMIC CHAKRA MEDITATION

• Bring attention inwards
• Start shaking the body – attention on chakra point – exhale through mouth
• Visualize color of the chakra (3 mins each chakra)
• Chant mantra (optional)
• Stop: affirmations (30 sec – 1 min each chakra). Affirmations have to be short and positive and repeated mentally.
• Relaxation and grounding
  • Bring attention to your insights, your realization and encourage the truth to stay and embody in daily life.
  • Laying down on the floor for grounding, rolling over to your right side before going up. Feel the floor to feel save. 

7 x 4min = 21 mins for all chakras 

Remember the safety guidelines while doing this practice!

MOVING ENERGY UP PRACTICE

This practice is a basic Tantra meditation and takes about 5 to 10 mins. You can also do this practice at the end of an asana class. You move the energy up from the root to heart and use the Mulabandha root lock (hatha yoga).

STEPS

1. Inhale to lock the root lock: engage muscles in pelvic floor and belly in and up
2. Move hand from root to heart
3. Hold breath and muscles, turn palms down
4. Exhale through nose and palms coming down

BENEFITS

1. Sexual control
2. Feel more (feeling center)
3. Energizing
   
   

WALKING MEDITATIONS

Walking meditation (Zen Buddhism): keeping awareness on the feed, synchronizing breath with movement. Inhale shifting wait forward, exhale moving back food forward. 

This meditation technique is in the tradition of mindfulness meditation.

THICH NHAT HANH – Tibeten Monk

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered around the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. He is the man Martin Luther King called “An Apostle of peace and nonviolence.” His key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment—the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world. He started Plum Village in France. 

Books: “A miracle of minds”, “Heart of the Buddhist teaching” 

Hakomi – Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is about the connection between body and mind. 

WALKING MEDITATION PRACTICE

In this practice, the body can be seen as the subconscious mind and it helps you to become conscious of your unconscious habits. Just by imagining certain situations you already experience it in your body. All the reactions on the world are stored in the body and make us react to certain circumstances in a certain way. Emotions can be seen as bodily sensations / experiences. Emotions are the connection between the body and the mind. 

STEPS

• Imagine different scenarios 
  • (late for job interview, meeting good friend for coffee with plenty of time, scary night time city in a small street, Sunday stroll home after morning bliss). 
• Imagine these scenarios and come aware of how your inner and outer body changes. How do you feel? How do you walk? How is your body?
• Imagine certain circumstances where you are walking and imagine how you feel, notice how your body reacts on this situation.

BENEFITS 

You can examine your reactions to situations like this to see how you react in certain circumstances. You can learn about your own reactions through the body, your own pattern and perception of the world. You can discover what you already do. If you are anxious, confident, skeptical, joyful; your body will be repeatedly in this state. Your body can get stuck in this posture, your posture reflects the state of the mind. 

Also, it is a kind of feedback. Your posture reinforces itself, a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. Your body is used to this habit and then it’s hard to get out of it. When you do get out of it, break the pattern, then your body feels different. You might loosen up, feel stronger in your core etc.

We can access our habitual way of thinking through or body. Unconscious actions we can access to listen to our body, what our body is telling us. Body as subconscious mind then we can access the subconscious mind. Approach your body with loving, mindful attitude then you can unravel some unconscious patterns and break these. Getting aware of it, conscious awareness, accepting it. Some point in your life you had an experience what started you to react on it in certain ways. The process of unraveling them, realizing it, thanking them for looking after you. They become more conscious of it, so when they come up you can ‘greet’ them and get aware of it, and maybe choose not to be in it. Not to be dictated by it. 

IMITATING WALKING PATTERN

• A person is walking in front of you; observe some of their walking habits
• Try to walk like them
• Show the person how they walk by walking in front of them
• Also, you try to observe how you feel when you walk like this person. How does this walking pattern change the way you feel?

BENEFITS

You don’t have to change your walking pattern, then you are telling yourself you are not ‘good enough’. You rather want to learn to unravel why you are walking like this; what does this tell about yourself and the way you feel?

Explain to yourself that you don’t need this pattern anymore. It might be something that you needed when you were younger, when you were a child. Try to observe this and try to say it’s ok to let it go. It’s not part of the Self. 

DANCE MEDITATIONS

DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR DANCE MEDITATION

1. Dancing with different body parts as leader (pace, gears). Dance with a certain part of your body. You bring the focus inside to one part and you get less self-conscious.
2. Dance with a partner by holding each other’s fingers.
3. Dance behind a partner and copy his / her dancing moves.
4. Blindfold dancing (close eyes because eyes are connection with the mind). 

Before starting dance meditations it’s a good idea to stretch the body to release the joints.

SUFI WHIRLING

The esoteric path within Islam

• Left hand facing the earth (feminine, mother earth)
• Right hand facing the sky (masculine) ? we exist in-between feminine and masculine
• Dhristy at center of the right palm
• Also possible with focus on 3^rd eye and eyes closed
• Do both sides: clockwise & anti-direction
• Falling: students experience to fall, they won’t feel afraid of it anymore and know they can recover
• Peace, gear
• Slow down before stopping
• Even when you stop, keel looking at palm until you feel fully grounded
• Grounding practice: 
  • Shavasana, Childspose, Reversed Shavasana 
  • Touch
  • Expression, sharing

This practice helps to connect more with the source (planet, stars & galaxies). Everything is moving in circles, and cycles are the nature of the universe. 

PARTNER DANCE MEDITATION

Before starting this practice: Ask the students for permission to touch. Tell the students to only touch in appropriate ways by setting boundaries. 

1. Touch & feel, no movement. Inviting person to become more sensitive / aware of the body.
2. Touch & small movement and exhale from that part. Release of tension from the touched part.
3. Touch & make big free movements.
4. Touch faster & make movements continuous.
5. Take touch away & just dance! 

? Add a spiritual element by saying that the movement shouldn’t come from the mind and focus on the space created inside, the consciousness.

SHIFTING SENSES MEDITATION

Dzogchen: Tantra tradition within Tibetan Buddhism

Dzogchen, or “Great Perfection”, is a tradition of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism aimed at discovering and continuing in the natural primordial state of being. It is a central teaching of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism and of Bon. In these traditions, Dzogchen is the highest and most definitive path of the nine vehicles to liberation.

Sutra / Tantra: spiritual texts

4 main schools of Tibetan Buddhism

Tantra: felt experience of “God”

enlightenment is possible in one lifetime

discover nature of mind, existence, reality

Tibetan: thinking is a sense, the 6^th sense. A tool you can apply to life in dualistic nature in order to survive.

Lots of people get stuck in thoughts, like it represents your identity, but it is nothing more than hearing, just a life experience. What represents your identity is that part that is aware of the thinking / hearing / smelling = Self.

6 senses: Seeing, hearing, thinking, feeling, smelling, tasting 

? “Awareness is about the shift to…”

STEPS FOR SHIFTING SENSES

1. Shifting your awareness from thinking to seeing
2. Shifting your awareness from seeing to smelling
3. Shifting your awareness from smelling to feeling
4. Shifting your awareness from feeling to hearing
5. Shifting your awareness from hearing to thinking etc.
6. End the meditation by becoming aware of the awareness and bring this awareness to your chest area to let it ground there. By doing this you experience that you don’t need to use the thinking (or another sense) to become aware: you don’t have to look up to thoughts / listening / seeing etc. Thought and the mind is separate from awareness; it is just a tool we can use whenever we want. There is an everlasting wide and spacious awareness inside us. This awareness is always there, but most of the time we are not aware of it. You become aware from the heart and live from the heart instead of the mind; the spacious awareness. 

BENEFITS

It is not important what you hear, see or think, but the main focus of this practice is what it feels like to hear, so you get aware of the hearing. Just getting a sense what it feels like to hear / feel / think / touch. 

Linguistic aspect between what it feels like to be hearing and feeling as a sense. With feeling as a sense, we mean the sensations in our body that we feel or observe. What it feels like to be hearing / thinking etc. means to become aware of the senses. 

With this practice, you shift your awareness from local awareness to spacious awareness. Intentionally you shift your awareness from sense to sense and try to get comfortable with this and observe how the thinking is also a “tool” like the five senses. If you do this practice with your eyes open, you can try to bring this awareness and this practice into daily life.

You can do this meditation practice many times during the day: small glimpses many times. By doing this you connect the meditative state with living life ? be conscious aware.

With these practices, you train your mind and neurological pathways become more aware in a different way. 

“The wheel of awareness” – Dan Siegel (book: Mindsight) YouTube

LOCAL AWARENESS & SPACIOUS AWARENESS

Our awareness is way more spacious than all our senses together. The senses just bring us information (local awareness). Sometimes you can suddenly feel this spacious space in your mind – while watching a sunset, being in nature etc. These practices help us to feel this space throughout our lives, rather than that it’s a state that happens through external events. “I am, therefore I think” 

Descartes – enlightenment

In our society, the mind is dominant, but never satisfied. So, we are creating constant problems for ourselves.

Local awareness: Portion of awareness and focusing (seeing to hearing). The rest of the senses are still working.

Spacious awareness: “Flow state”, being aware of everything, all senses are balanced.

You can use the local awareness to come into spacious awareness. Come out of small minds (problems) to come into spacious mind. Tricking our mind into a different state. Different techniques through the senses.

Use preliminary techniques to come into spacious awareness. Doing this with deliberate mindfulness: deliberately brining attention in the present moment being non-judgmental.

1. Counting breath
2. Observing breath
3. Mantra

From these techniques to effortless mindfulness. It is already there, you don’t need to sustain it: it is constantly present. Tuning into the awareness that is already there. Tuning in involves effort, but awareness is there: inherent awareness. 

Change perspective, playing with senses to get a small glimpse of different states of awareness. Make new connections to expand the experience. 

For different people, different senses might work (visual / audial). See what works for you. You will realize in spacious awareness there is inherent compassion.

LISTENING TO SPACE: STEPS

Tune in with right ear, area around this ear. Then expand and notice the ability to focus on that. Move from focusing on the sound through space to the space where the sound moves through. Make little shifts. Shifting awareness to more spacious awareness.

1. Local awareness: space around one ear
2. Open local awareness to space around body
3. Notice movement of sound through space
4. Notice space through which sounds moves
5. Notice space is aware
6. Rest in spacious awareness 

SEEING: STEPS

• Notice seeing
• Softening to include everything
• Notice light coming to eyes
• Notice space through which light moves
• Rest in spacious awareness
  • Eyes forward / back (imaging the eyeballs are in back of your head or be aware of space behind you)
  • Open / focused vision (soften, looking at space)
• Come back to body to realize your body is part of the space = grounding. Space isn’t separate from the heart or the body

THE NEUROSCIENCES OF MINDFULNESS

Neuroplasticity: the ability of the brain to create new neutral networks.

• Choose to think / feel in a certain way ad you will change the neuroplastical pathways
• Strengthens with use (more neutral networks)
• Through intentional use 

“You need 10.000 hours to become an expert / master in something”: you can actually intentionally train the brain to become into a different state of mind. 

TASK POSITIVE NETWORK / DEFAULT MODE NETWORK

The brain has two networks which are the interrelations of networks within the brain:

• TASK POSITIVE NETWORK (TNP)
  • Doing something and paying attention to the doing
  • Attention demand task
  • Present moment awareness
• DEFAULT MODE NETWORK (DMN)
  • Conductor of neural symphony
  • Central operating network
  • Network of day dreaming
  • Wandering, worrying, self-reflection, time travel (future / past), theory of mind (states of mind of other people), experiential self (stories about ourselves)

50% of the time we are thinking of something we are not doing = DMN. DMN separates humans from animals.

A wandering mind is not a happy mind; the content doesn’t matter. You are not present, more abstract. 

Ask yourself: “what’s there when there is no problem to solve?”

“who’s there when there is nothing to solve?”

Realizing I am not my thoughts, it’s the DMN (Ramana Maharshi: “Who am I?”)

TNP and DMN can’t happen at the same time. We are shifting between the two. TNP is more externally oriented. DMN is more internally oriented. 

If you are in a kind of flow state, then the TPN and DMN are more balanced. But normally you are either in TPN or DMN state, these networks are competing. Example: mantra meditation and focusing on AUM (TPN).

DMN is not the enemy, it is very useful to function in human life. It is more about the understanding of the different networks of the brain. 

When you are doing mindfulness, you do TPN and then DMN quiets down, because TPN and DMN cannot work at the same time. Becoming aware of the present moment and the monkey mind (DMN) will calm down. But you do need to be able to use it when you need it. 

Problem solving mind (DMN) is dissatisfied, mini me that is always running. 

DUAL AWARENESS MEDITATION

Non-dual awareness: a way of being aware that incorporates everything. No division between object and subject. 

Deliberate mindfulness practices successfully reduce DMN activity but support dualistic alternation of two networks. (dual awareness meditation, focusing on breath / mantra / picture). Mindfulness: purposefully bringing present moment awareness to 

Raman Maharshi: “Who am I?”

Aks yourself: “What’s there when there is no problem to solve?”

“Who is there when there is no problem to solve?”

? realizing that I am not my thoughts, it’s the DMN. 

NON-DUAL AWARENESS MEDITATION

“Enables an atypical state of mind in which extrinsic (TPN) & intrinsic (DMN) experiences are increasingly synergistic rather than competing” – Josipovic etal 

Dual awareness: getting rid of everything that is not us, division between self and nature.

Monkey gab: exploring space between thoughts:

1. Mantra and investigating space between
2. Opening door to see what’s behind
3. Focusing nature of mind

A way of being aware that incorporates everything. No division between object and subject. Feeling more connected with everything. 

When you are teaching, ask yourself: why and how are you teaching? What is your intention? If your intention is to bring up people’s patterns, then you have to be very careful. You need to know the people. It should be in an appropriate setting, appropriate group, appropriate time, measure the treatment. Make sure that the people are psychology stable. If something comes up, there are certain things you can do as a teacher. 

NERVOUS SYSTEM

SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM: fight / flight

Heart rate goes up, tension, skeletal muscle blood rises, ready to run, cortisol / adrenalin rises, go on instinct (neo cortex), breath becomes shallow and quick, tense in your face, mouth goes dry, digestion goes down (energy necessary for other important things), sweating, vision increases, pupils dilate (looking for danger). 

? from looking specific (SNS) to softening the gaze to relax (PNS).

Also, any other kind of stimulation, anything that excites you. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO EXCITE PEOPLE?

• Vigorous movement (tensing the muscles before relaxing)
  • Ecstatic dance (dance, dance and then laying down and relaxing)
• Fast breathing chest, empathizing the inhale
• Visualization, thinking, memory
• Facial contortions, lion’s breath
• Narrow gaze, focus on object
• Yoga: balancing poses, back bends
• Pranayamas like Kapalbhati and Bhastrika 
• Breathing through right nostril 

If someone is in an anxious SNS state: bring them back to the presence, back to the space, ground them by holding the feet, ask them: what day is it, what color is this, where are we?

PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

Opposite of sympathetic NS: heart rate goes down, be creative / poetic, vision will relax, features will soften, breathing will get deeper, emphasize the exhale to relax and to soften. 

Most people live on SNS state; society is based on time, busyness which causes stress and anxiety. Sympathetic arousal the whole time, so your body doesn’t digest properly, fight of flight state. 

You want to have an appropriate reaction to your environment. Full range of capabilities and be settled in a balanced state. 

Yoga is anti-stimulation, don’t want to be stimulated. But you can be excited about stimulation, but just be conscious of what you are doing. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO MAKE PEOPLE RELAX? 

• Stillness 
• Deep belly breathing, empathizing the exhale, slow controlled breathing
• Relaxed gaze, relax key areas in your body (gaze, jaw, forehead, eyes, tongue, whole face, shoulders, chest, belly, pelvic floor, genitals, feet)
• Inner smile: visualizing nice things, smiling to the inner self, telling your nervous system it’s all fine
• Yin yoga, forward bends, childspose, shavasana
• Pranayamas balancing the nervous system: alternate breathing practice
• Breathing through left nostril 
• Bringing your awareness to space, soften into space rather than focusing on something, anti-dhristy (we are 99% space)
• Close the eyes 
• Chanting, AUM, humming bee 
• Uijay breathing 

LOVING PRESENCE

State of awareness in which you are tracking your own reactions and tracking the signals of the person you are talking to. You are aware of what is going on in yourself, you are aware of what their body is telling you and you are listening to their story. Don’t listen too much too their story, because it’s a story that is made up in their mind and what they are telling themselves. You want to be aware of their body and what that is telling you. Think of something about them that nourishes you, that you admire in them and tune into this feeling. If you feel nourishment in them, then your nervous system will resonate and they will feel nourishment from you. In order to hold space for someone and to tune into their presence moment experience. 

STEPS

1. Tracking self (your own internal process, are you triggered by something?)
2. Tracking other (what is their body telling you?)
3. Half listening to the story
4. Look for nourishment 

“BEGINNERS MIND” (Zen mind)

Someone asks question, you listen to the answer coming up in your head and then let it go. You settle into the space of not knowing. And when you are in this space, you answer “I don’t know”

THINKING AS 6^TH SENSE

Thoughts = mental sensations

1. Notice thinking as inner talking / hearing ? switch to hearing only
2. Thoughts as background chatter (foreign language)
3. Interest in aware space
4. Thinking = mental sensations ? become aware of this
5. Alternate physical / mental sensations (hana)
6. Comments on experience = mental sensations
7. Rest in awake awareness ? check if the mind still works when it needs to, feeling comfortable by not knowing, without control
8. Check if you know your phone number, if you can make simple calculation, to become aware of the fact that you still know it, but you don’t always need your mind to be active.

YOGA & MEDITATION 

YOGA SUTRAS 

“Yoga citta vriti nirodha” = yoga is the cessation of the fluctuation of the mind 

What you are thinking about doesn’t matter, it is about the nature of the thoughts / mind = Gunas:

1. Tamas: no intention, no movement 
2. Raja: movement but no intention
3. Sattva: movement with intention

THE EIGHT LIMBS (Patanjali)

1. Yamas: control your behavior, help you to go more in Sattvic state 
2. Niyamas: stops accumulation of more Rajas & Tamas 
3. Asana: reduces Rajas
4. Pranayama: breathing techniques, reduces Tamas, make the mind more clear
5. Pratyahara: sense withdrawal / control, no longer drawn out by the senses, state of being rather than practices 
6. Dhahara: concentration, one thought, focus on an object
7. Dhyana: meditation, maintain focus on object of concentration
8. Samadhi: loss of sense of separate Self

Western perspective: learning to control nervous system, don’t respond directly to what happens, through breath you can control NS

Let the breath be the guide, maintaining control in asana class. Slightly pushing the edge of the breath.

Yoga: dual = we try to separate our Self from everything that is not

Non-dual = everything is “God”, all the same, doesn’t matter

RECOMMENDED READING LIST 

BOOKS

The book of Secrets – OSHO 

Pharmacy for the Soul – OSHO

Oatliers – Malcolm Gladwell

A miracle of minds – Thich Nhat Hanh

Heart of the Buddhist teaching – Thich Nhat Hanh

The miracle of mindfulness – Thic Nhat Hanh 

The wheel of awareness – Dan Siegel

Shifting to Freedom – Loch Kelly

The way of Shambala Tantra – Lila & Muni Ananda 

Vigyan Bhairav Tantra (two volumes)

The live changing magic of tidying up – Marie Kondo

When I say no I feel guilty – Manuel Smith

Ikigai – The Japanese secret to long happy live

Eastern Body Western Mind – Anodeo Judith

Hatha Yoga Pradipka – Muktibodhananda 

The Book of Chakras – Ambika Wauters

The Chakra Bible – Patricia Mercier

ONLINE CONTENT 

Brene Brown Ted Talk about Toxic Shame

Alan Watts – Conquering Fear on YouTube